1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the manufacturing of payment cards, and in particular how to manufacture payment cards with electronic devices embedded in their magnetic stripes that allow at least a portion of the recorded magnetic account data to be autonomously reprogrammable.
2. Description of Related Art
At one time, credit cards were simple slabs of plastic with user account numbers embossed into them. Merchant embossing machines printed these numbers with carbon paper onto a sales slip that the customer would then sign. Company logos and other color printing were usually included on the outside surfaces. Such cards were relatively easy to manufacture, and unfortunately very easy to counterfeit.
Since then, various security measures have been addition to credit cards and other payment cards to control fraudulent use. These all have added to the difficulty in making a payment card that still is thin, flexible, and fits the original dimensions. Each issued card must have a useful service life that extends into years.
Including batteries and electronics into payment cards is especially challenging. The physical and environmental constraints generally result in a thin electronics package being sandwiched between two plastic sheets and/or embedded in injected plastic. The temperatures and pressures that the electronics are subjected to during manufacturing must be limited to prevent damaging the sensitive components. This generally means that high pressure, high temperature injection molding and lamination methods cannot be used.
The components and intermediates of payment cards are such that very effective plant and physical security measures must be employed to protect them from theft. Only a few locations around the world have the necessary assets to meet the requirements of issuing banks and governments. The intermediate assemblies become especially critical and valuable when they have received the company logos, special security measures, account numbers, and personalization data.
What is needed is a manufacturing method for producing payment cards with dynamic magnetic stripe devices that can be brought to a highly finished state in less than maximally secure production facilities.